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Museums Committee. This was made possible through a grant."

3. [[underlined]] Membership Promotion and Development [[/underlined]] and [[underlined]] AFA Art Collectors Club [[/underlined]] Mr. George H. Fitch, Chairman, reported that the total membership in all categories now numbers 1,744, with a gain of 249. He stated that the Art Collectors Club has 77 members. Mr. Fitch spoke of plans for the annual collection visits, scheduled for November 8th, with many surprises in store. These visits are a privilege of members paying annual dues of $25 and over.

4. [[underlined]] Overseas Museum Donor Program [[/underlined]] - Mr. Stanley Marcus, Chairman, stated that plans are in process of development, but not sufficiently advanced for a report at this time.

5. [[underlined]] Government and Art [[/underlined]] - Mr. Lloyd Goodrich, Chairman, reported on the status of the bill for the establishment of a Federal Advisory Council on the Arts, within the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. He said that it had been reported favorably in committee, and that he was optimistic as to the passage of the bill, which was designed to carry out a recommendation of the President of the United States.

6. [[underlined]] U.S. National Commission for UNESCO [[/underlined]] - Mr. Lawrence M.C. Smith, AFA's delegate to the Commission, referred to the report on the UNESCO program, given in the minutes of the 1957 Meeting of Members, as steadily progressing. Mr. Smith attended the meeting of the Commission held in San Francisco and spoke with enthusiasm of the interest in, and thoughtful consideration of, the program.

V Director's Report - Mr. Prior referred to the preceding Committee Reports as constituting in effect his report of operations for the year. He paid tribute to the loyal and devoted staff members in the Federation office, and pointed out their excellent qualifications and their high standards. He mentioned that the volume of work being handled is much greater than ever before, but that there has been no increase in staff. One indication of this is the fact that the insurance coverage of works of art in our exhibitions is over $1,000,000 at the present time, as opposed to one-half million a year ago.

The great number and value of works lent to us is a responsibility which we do not treat lightly. During the past year, we have concentrated on improving all techniques having to do with handling works of art. The effectiveness of this campaign is indicated by the fact that we have recently negotiated a new insurance contract which includes a very substantial reduction in rates. 

The Director thanked all those who believe that works of art should be used for the benefit of mankind. He thanked the Members of AFA (Individual, Chapter, and Corporate) for their support; the Trustees, especially Committee Chairman, for backing the efforts of the staff; the foundations and private donors for contributing financially to our activities; and the lenders (artists, museums, collectors, and dealers)